on the bubble

(of a sports player or team) occupying the last qualifying position in a team or for a tournament and liable to be replaced by another - North American informal

This expression comes from sit on the bubble with the implication that the bubble may burst.

Related Idioms and Phrases :

bear the brunt of

be the person to suffer the most (as the result of an attack, misfortune, etc.).

The origin of brunt is unknown and may be onomatopoeic. The sense has evolved from the specific (a sharp or heavy blow) to the more general (the shock or violence of an attack).

burst his bubble

shatter someone's illusions about something or destroy their sense of well-being.

the buck stops here = the buck stops with someone

the responsibility for something cannot or should not be passed to someone else – Informal

Famously, the buck stops here was the wording of a sign on the desk of US President Harry S.Truman. Compare with pass the buck below.

buck up your ideas

make more effort

become more energetic and hardworking – informal

Buck here refers to the lively action of a horse jumping with all its feet together and its back arched. Buck up in its modern senses of cheer up and hurry up is first found in late 19th-century school slang.

make a fast buck

earn money easily and quickly – informal

pass the buck

shift the responsibility for something to someone else – informal

A buck is an object placed as a reminder in front of the person whose turn it is to deal in the game of poker.

1998 - New York Review of Books – The legislation left the main decisions to the individual states which may well pass the buck to the large cities where most of the problem is.

a drop in a bucket

a very small amount compared with what is needed or expected

1995 - Ian Rankin - Let It Bleed - A few million was a drop in the ocean, hardly a ripple…

kick the bucket

die – informal

The bucket in this phrase may be a pail on which a person committing suicide might stand, kicking it away before they hanged themselves. Another suggestion is that it refers to a beam on which something can be hung up…in Norfolk dialect the beam from which a slaughtered pig was suspended by its heels could be referred to as a bucket.

Buckley's chance

a forlorn hope

no chance at all - Australian & New Zealand informal

This phrase is often shortened simply to Buckley's. Who or what Buckley was remains uncertain…the name is sometimes said to refer to William Buckley, a convict transported to Australia in 1802 who escaped and lived with the Aborigines for many years, despite dire predictions as to his chances of survival.

1948 - Vance Palmer - Golconda - Buckley's chance we have of getting our price if we're left to face the companies alone.